Irish hospital uses copper to combat MRSA

MULLINGAR, Ireland — St. Francis Private Hospital is the first in the world to use copper doorknobs to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other infectious "superbugs," according to the Irish Independent.

According to the story, Noeleen Sheridan, general manager of the hospital, decided to install over 100 doorknobs after a University Hospital Birmingham study that copper on surfaces could reduce contamination by 90 to 100 percent.

Sheridan said: "Our decision to specify anti-microbial copper products is based on this conviction and the compelling evidence from the Birmingham clinical trial."

A spokesperson for the Health Service Executive said that it will consider the merits of copper surfaces — as it does with any health technology innovation — in due course, the story added.